UK IT professionals among best trained in Europe

More than one in four IT professionals in the UK (26 per cent) received training in the past month, compared to the one in six European average.

By
Computerworld UK staff
| 17 Aug 07

The UK provides more training for IT professionals than its European counterparts, with the exception of Denmark, according to research from IT body e-skills.

More than one in four IT professionals in the UK (26 per cent) received training in the past month, compared to the one in six European average. Denmark placed Britain at the post by training 27 per cent of IT professionals in the last four weeks.

The research, drawn from 15 member states, reveals the vast majority of IT staff working in Europe are male, with women representing less than one in five of the workforce. This drops to less than one in 10 for Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg and Portugal.

Karen Price, CEO at e-skills UK, said it is "very encouraging" that the UK is among Europe's leaders in terms of investment in IT professional skills, but "it is vital that we do not become complacent".

"Our IT professionals are essential to the UK's economic prosperity in a rapidly changing global knowledge economy. We must ensure they have, and can continue to develop, the skills they need. The importance of this cannot be overstated: the [Economist Intelligence Unit] which ranks the U.K. third worldwide in terms of IT professional skills, and fourth in terms of overall IT competitiveness."